House prices grow faster in Yorkshire than anywhere else

The average cost of a home in Yorkshire is now almost �174,000, according to property website Rightmove.

Ben Barnett

Published:00:01Updated:08:16Monday 15 June 2015

Share this article

YORKSHIRE HAS witnessed the biggest increase in property prices outside of the South of England as asking prices have jumped to a new record across England and Wales.

The average cost of a home in the region is now almost £174,000, an increase of nearly £6,000 on the figure at this time last year.

It is a growing imbalance between supply and demand from buyers that is driving the average price higher, according to a report published today by property website Rightmove.

The report explains that a surprise fall in the supply of homes coming on the market in recent weeks having added to the upward pressure on prices.

Nationally, the number of properties listed for sale was down by 8.5 per cent on the same period a year ago, while last month saw a 3.9 per cent fall in the supply of new homes, the report states. It means fewer properties have been listed for sale after the General Election than before it.

Experts had previously suggested that some potential sellers and buyers had been putting off their plans to move properties to await the outcome of the election.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said that while there has been an upturn in buyer demand following the election result, there has also been an “unanticipated” post-election fall in the supply of new properties.

Mr Shipside said: “Agents report that the election surprise has given a boost to market sentiment, driven by more certainty about future economic and taxation policies.

“While would-be buyers have been able to respond quickly to these events, many potential sellers have so far failed to come to market. This has pushed up some of the asking prices of those properties that have been marketed, meaning that buyers are faced with paying a new average record price high for the more limited choice available.

“It could be said that this is the price of political certainty.”

The supply of top-end properties worth more than £2 million listed for sale has bucked the general trend. An 86 per cent month-on-month leap in new listings of properties in this price bracket has been recorded, as the election outcome swept aside the possibility of a mansion tax.

In Yorkshire, the average house price may have seen a large increase, but the average home here costs less than in any other region, with the exception of the North East, where the average house price is just over £144,000.

Across England and Wales, the average property on the market in June is more that twice as expensive as those in the North East - £294,351 and more than £8,000 higher than a previous record set in April.

In London, the priciest location to buy a house, average asking prices are also at a record high for June, at just under £614,000.

Wales and the North East of England were the only areas in the study to see asking prices fall year on year - by 1.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively.

Mr Shipside said the generally higher prices would be challenging for buyers although he did expect plenty of activity in the marketplace.

“It all seems set up for an active second-half housing market in 2015 barring any external shocks to the economy. However, it remains to be seen whether stretched buyer affordability can reach sellers’ post-poll pricing.

“The new government and other stakeholders now need to urgently deliver more new-build homes, to stop asking prices being pushed up further.”